Fisheries that have received MSC certification range from Alaskan Pollock to Oregon's Dungeness crab and a lobster fishery on Mexico's Baja peninsula, said Kerry Coughlin, MSC's regional director for the Americas.

About 300 fisheries are in the program, with more than 130 certified. In addition to certifying fisheries, the group also certifies supply chains so seafood can be traced from boat to shelf.

In a very crowded marketplace, where more than 80 percent of the seafood sold in the United States is imported, Coughlin said certification can help consumers make decisions that make a difference.

"It's not so much advocacy as market forces, and consumers can take part in that," Coughlin said. "They're helping to motivate fisheries, and that's what we are seeing on the fisheries side - the fisheries are motivated."